Private interests plowing under a city park for fun and profit

Yes Jersey City, the sleazery has come to this. Johnny knows this story inside out and backwards but can get a bit wordy so let's review. Lloyd Goldman knocks down old Powerhouse Arts District Arts building and helps defy neighborhood height limits in building his 110 First St. Building, the POS Building so named by a gal walking down Warren St.. Gets tax abatements to include affordable housing and art space units. Check clears and suddenly Goldman says no poors and no artist hippies. City Planning backs down right on schedule. Ugly building goes up with the help of alcohol and pills (Johnny has those pics as you know). City owned dog park and small green space located between HB Light-Rail and POS building. Walkway from Harsimus Cove towards Grove St. PATH runs alongside. Goldman wants to redo the park his way though there is nothing wrong with park. Plan gets pushback from neighborhood.

Today Pavarini-McGovern, who are Goldman's contractors on the job, GUTTED A CITY OWNED PARK! They must have heard there was pushback from the neighborhood and simply went ahead and tore into, again, CITY PROPERTY belonging you and you and you and you and Johnny equally. On what authority? Johnny has been talking with people high up in the Jersey City government who are quite simply outraged. City Planning did not know they were going to do this. Candice Osborne was blindsided by this. This was supposed to go before planning and city council replete with all the public input you'd expect.

Except these contractors, they don't see city property like you and I do because they are rich. They figure a few thousand in fines, whatever. A couple things have to happen here or when other developers get wind of this, dig first apologize later becomes the norm and every green space is a goner.

1) The mayor should say something. He has not. He spoke long and loud about his disdain for Goldman's plans when he was Ward E councilman.

2) The mayor and city council should NOT turn up at the grand opening photo ops. Why enable this kind of shit?

3) They have to be moved off the city property post-haste and ANY plan they bring to redevelop it must be denied. There is a penalty for such stupidity.

4) After of course they set it back to exactly what it was.

5) People looking to rent downtown should avoid at ANY COST renting from 110 First. There are plenty of other places right near there that don't behave like this. Don't even consider them. If they'll do this to a neighborhood and a city imagine how seriously they'll take your needs as a renter.

Johnny's heard that #3 on that list is almost a given at this point which makes him very happy. Sometimes the biggest wars start over the smallest plots of land.